Tag Archives: Florida

Please Act Now against the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline proposal

This went out yesterday to WWALS members.

TELL GOVERNOR DEAL THAT THE SABAL TRAIL GAS PIPELINE THREATENS PRIVATE PROPERTY, CLEAN WATER, AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Please take immediate action, today, to tell Governor Nathan Deal’s office that you oppose the siting of Spectra Energy’s Sabal Trail “natural” gas pipeline through the Withlacoochee River watershed. Call 404-656-1776 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and tell the staffer that answers, “I am opposed to routing the Sabal Trail pipeline through the Withlacoochee River watershed; I urge Governor Deal to do everything in his power to stop this project”.

Also please sign this petition Continue reading →

WWALS joins Floridians Against Fracking

Per unanimous vote of the WWALS Board, WWALS has joined Floridians Against Fracking:

The goal of the coalition is a ban on fracking in Florida. To that end, we support state, and local efforts to ban fracking.

Why?

Fracking and drilling associated with fracking for oil and natural gas poses a direct and immediate threat to the drinking water, air, food, health, wildlife, climate, and economy of communities across Florida….

What are the tenets of the coalition?

Continue reading →

FL DEP boosting FL Gov. Scott’s pipeline investments –FloridaBulldog

The reporter who broke the FL Gov. Rick Scott conflict of interest story a year ago now finds even more conflicts, some related to FL-DEP’s intent to issue a permit to Sabal Trail for its fracked methane pipeline. As he mentions, WWALS will be filing a petition to FL-DEP Friday.

Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog, 4 August 2015, Gov. Scott’s pipeline investment gets a boost from Florida environmental regulators,

State regulators are quietly backing the award of a crucial environmental permit to a company that wants to build a controversial $3-billion natural gas pipeline in North Florida. The company’s investors have included Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), overseen by the governor, published Continue reading →

Tonight: Hamilton County Commission and FL DEP Sabal Trail permit

TONIGHT in Hamilton County, 6 pm:

FYI….pipelines are a direct result of fracking in our country. The Suwannee and Santa Fe River is faced with this destructive transport system.

Hamilton County already wrote and voted in favor of supporting a statewide ban on fracking. I do not see them being in favor of a pipeline cutting through their community for gas infrastructure. BUT, we’ll see after tonight. If you can attend this meeting or share this with others who may, that would be good to be a part of the discussion.

Please share this: FL DEP to issue permit trusting Sabal Trail to prevent leaks into the Floridan Aquifer.

Hamilton Co. BOCC is taking up this issue tonight at their regular meeting. The meeting starts at 6pm at the courthouse. This is not on the agenda, so it will be discussed at the end of the meeting and public comment may not be allowed.

Chris Mericle

Florida lists WWALS for Alapaha River Water Trail

The Florida Department of Greenways and Trails now links to WWALS for the Alapaha River Water Trail. Chris Mericle, who negotiated this for WWALS, says:

This action will shine a brighter and wider light on WWALS, anyone searching the Greenways and Trails website and clicks on the ARWT will be directed to WWALS.

Follow the link to see.

We’re also looking for pictures Continue reading →

FL DEP to issue permit trusting Sabal Trail to prevent leaks into the Floridan Aquifer

Canada’s National Energy Board just ordered Spectra Energy to fix chronic corrosion and leak problems after numerous fines, as did U.S. PHMSA before, yet 300x194 Horizontal Directional Drilling, in Suwannee River crossing, by Sabal Trail Transmission, for WWALS.net, 10 July 2015 Florida’s DEP plans to trust Spectra to build the Sabal Trail pipeline on top of our Floridan Aquifer, drilling under the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers.

This in the Notice of Intent to Issue Sabal Trail Transmission of 10 July 2015 sounds good without that context: Continue reading →

Please join the opposition to the Sabal Trail watershed invader –WWALS to SSRWPC

This letter is for today’s Monday 20 July 2015 SSRWPC meeting, at Aniston’s Restaurant, 1404 W. Baker Highway, Douglas, GA. See also the LAKE videos of last month’s SSRWPC meeting. -jsq

PDF

Dear Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council,

WWALS Watershed Coalition is the WATERKEEPER® Affiliate representing the watersheds of the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers, which are in the proposed paths of the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline through Lowndes, Brooks, and Colquitt Counties Georgia.

WWALS has long opposed that pipeline from Alabama to Florida, which is funded by NextEra Energy of Florida and Duke Energy of North Carolina for construction by Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas. WWALS is an intervenor against it with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on docket CP15-17.

Please ask FERC to deny a permit for Sabal Trail

Continue reading →

WWALS signs on to Global Frackdown

Ban fracking before it spreads, and ban it quickly enough to stop new pipelines! WWALS signed the Global Frackdown organized by Food and Water Watch:

Fracking threatens the air we breathe, the water we drink, the communities we love and the climate on which we depend.

The specific message WWALS added when signing 29 June 2015 was:

Fracking is driving a company from Houston, Texas to try to gouge a pipeline across our fragile watersheds and drinking water aquifer. Georgia is already the fastest-growing U.S. market for solar power, and just passed a solar financing law that will make it grow even faster. Meanwhile, a shale gas basin has been discovered under south Georgia and north Florida. Ban fracking before it spreads, and ban it quickly enough to stop new pipelines!

Remember, WWALS supports a fracking ban in Floirida, and Continue reading →

Agricultural land bought by west coast investors

Investment firms owned by Bill Gates have bought thousands of acress of agricultural land in counties in or near WWALS watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida, all above the Floridan Aquifer, near the Alapaha, Alapahoochee, Withlacoochee, and Suwannee Rivers, as part of a nationwide buying spree of a quarter million acres.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve found thus far. Any more recent posts should be found through this search.

These purchases of hundreds and thousands of contiguous acres are all after Bill Gates announced in 2012 he was going to “fix” agriculture in conjunction with Monsanto and Syngenta.

And it’s not just Bill Gates. Continue reading →

Statenville to Sasser Landing with Turket Creek Waterfall -jsq @ WWALS 2015-02-15

It was a nice day with current on the Alapaha River from 300x180 Selfie Turket, in Statenville to Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 15 February 2015 Statenville to Sasser Landing 15 February 2015, with a side trip up the Alapahoochee River to the famous Turket Creek Waterfall. This morning WWALS continues from Sasser Landing to Jennings Bluff, plus a walk up the Dead River to the sink where the Alapaha River goes underground. Continue reading →